Deuteronomy 14
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Deuteronomy 14:1-2, You are the children of the Lord your God. Do not cut yourselves or shave the front of your heads for the dead, for you are a people holy to the Lord your God. Out of all the peoples on the face of the earth, the Lord has chosen you to be his treasured possession.
Most of this chapter details the food laws and tithing. But the focus verses for today really give an excellent introduction for the why behind these things. Why are there specific rules regarding which foods the Israelites could eat? Well, because they are the children of God, a holy people, and God chose them to be set apart from the other people groups of the world. The separation between pure and impure animals simply is a reflection of the separation that God's people have with the rest of the world. God is clearly forming a unique people.
We've discussed this whole idea of holiness before but it certainly bears repeating. Holiness means being unique and set apart. Something that is holy is cut off from other things, in a class of its own. But that which is holy is also morally pure. One of the defining characteristics of God is his holiness. God is both totally pure and without sin and also like nobody else, in a class separate from all other classes. God called on the Israelites to become a holy people, set apart from all the people groups of the world. It says in Lev. 19:2, "...Be holy because I, the Lord God, am holy." They were to look differently, act differently, and be morally pure. Obviously, the Israelites were not going to be without sin because they were human beings but they were to make every attempt to avoid sin and atone for their sins regularly.
So where does that leave us? In the New Testament, the Greek word for holy is hagios and it comes from the same root word as saint or sanctified. Just as Jesus Christ is holy, we as his followers are also to seek holiness. I Peter 1:14-16 reads, "As obedient children, do not conform to the evil desires you had when you lived in ignorance. But just as he who called you is holy, so be holy in all you do; for it is written: “Be holy, because I am holy.” In New Testament language, being holy is also to be set apart but not to be separate, to be in the world but not of it. Our lives are to be characterized by holiness: we are to look different from the culture around us, we are to seek moral purity, and work toward sanctification. To be sanctified is to become more and more like Jesus. One might even go so far as to say that to become holy is to become like Jesus.
Do you think of your life as holy? Why or why not?
Let's pray...Lord Jesus, I want to look more like you. I don't want to blend into my culture but truly be a reflection of you in all I do. Forgive me for when I fall short. In Your Name, Amen.